It shall be the duty of the chair of the public employment relations commission upon application of any employer or employee having differences, as soon as practicable, to visit the location of such differences and to make a careful inquiry into the cause thereof and to advise the respective parties, what, if anything, ought to be done or submitted to by both to adjust said dispute and should said parties then still fail to agree to a settlement through said chair, then said chair shall endeavor to have said parties consent in writing to submit their differences to a board of arbitrations to be chosen from citizens of the state as follows, to wit: Said employer shall appoint one and said employees acting through a majority, one, and these two shall select a third, these three to constitute the board of arbitration and the findings of said board of arbitration to be final.

Public employment relations commission: Chapter 41.58 RCW.

The proceedings of said board of arbitration shall be held before the chair of the public employment relations commission who shall act as moderator or chair, without the privilege of voting, and who shall keep a record of the proceedings, issue subpoenas and administer oaths to the members of said board, and any witness said board may deem necessary to summon.

Any notice or process issued by the board herein created, shall be served by any sheriff, coroner or constable to whom the same may be directed, or in whose hands the same may be placed for service.

Such arbitrators shall receive five dollars per day for each day actually engaged in such arbitration and travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now existing or hereafter amended to be paid upon certificates of the director of labor and industries out of the fund appropriated for the purpose or at the disposal of the department of labor and industries applicable to such expenditure.

Effective date—Severability—1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 34: See notes following RCW 2.08.115.

Upon the failure of the director of labor and industries, in any case, to secure the creation of a board of arbitration, it shall become his or her duty to request a sworn statement from each party to the dispute of the facts upon which their dispute and their reasons for not submitting the same to arbitration are based. Any sworn statement made to the director of labor and industries under this provision shall be for public use and shall be given publicly in such newspapers as desire to use it.

(1) Where referral to publicly supported dispute resolution services through the federal mediation and conciliation service or other applicable federal agency is impracticable or where those services are unavailable due to federal staffing or funding reductions, the public employment relations commission may charge private sector employers and labor organizations a fee for covering the costs of services provided under this chapter.

(2) Fees collected under this section must be deposited into the private sector labor dispute resolution account created in RCW 49.08.080.

Conflict with federal requirements—2025 c 352: See note following RCW 50.20.090.

The private sector labor dispute resolution account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All fees collected under RCW 49.08.070 must be deposited into the account. The executive director of the public employment relations commission may authorize expenditures from the account solely for the administration, staffing, and other related expenses of private sector labor dispute resolution services under this chapter. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.

Conflict with federal requirements—2025 c 352: See note following RCW 50.20.090.